For the past month, FUSSY has been busy with a mural project to source for mural artists and overseeing the completion of it.

Artist Impression

(Image credits: designphase dba)

Hope Church Singapore

Designed by Melvin Tan of designphase dba, he conceptualized an area of Hope Church for the kids after Noah’s Ark, a popular scene narrated in the Bible and thus, fitting for the concept in a church.

He wanted the interior to resemble the inside of an ark, so the walls were to have detailed wood panelling and a coloured feature wall with white wood panelling as the backdrop. With regards to sourcing, we had to take into consideration the budget, the skill of the mural artists in blending of colours, as well as the availability and number of people doing the project.

We managed to find several mural artists but filtered the selection down to three groups. The client then had their pick of a trio made up of Samantha Chiang, Angella Yuen and Evon Yeap who had previously done works for Porcelain Hotel, Wheeler’s Yard, Caltex and many other community involvement projects.

We knew they were the best fit upon seeing past works of theirs that involved the blending of colours as well as the scale of projects they have previously managed. Moreover, their availability is what we’re looking for. Samantha and Angella does this full time while Evon does it part time, as she teaches preschool students full time.

Before they could start work, they had to go through a two-day Workplace Safety Course that allowed them to work at height with the scaffolding. Works officially began on 22nd May up till 30th June.

Brown Walls

The brown walls were started on first. What’s important to note is that there were multiple layers that needed to be applied – the base coat, textured gradients, generic wood grains and then the detailed wood grains. They also had to do the lines of the wood panels where it had to be straight even when the floor was not levelled, which required prior taping. All these required more time than previously planned so the project deadline was already starting to be a concern.

Lining

Repetition of the lines were not only physically a toll but mentally challenging as well. Lines had to be taped, levelled to be straight, only then can you paint a black line over it. They had to do this at least 10 times for each wall, not to mention grooves and insets of doorframes, corners, pillars, even around switches and trunkings.

Coloured Feature Wall with white wood panels

After the brown walls, came the coloured feature wall. The white wood provided a good contrast to the brown woodiness of the ship while the colours on it gave the whole place a vibrant and youthful aesthetic, suitable for the users of the space, kids. In order to achieve vibrant colours, they used acrylic paint and applied multiple layers. What we found interesting was that they painted the rectangles with cloths instead of brushes.

Finally, after 5 weeks of hard work by the trio, the project is finally completed.

FUSSY also sourced for a freelancer who was able to do the graphics of animals, lining up in pairs heading towards the ship as per Noah’s Ark storyline.

Read on for more about the artists, Angella, Samantha and Evon!

Angella Yuen, Samantha Chiang, Evon Yeap

What are the difficulties you face when mural painting? Or with regards to this project?

1. When the wall is so big that not only is it difficult to transfer the design onto the wall, it is also very taxing, both mentally and physically.
2. In most cases, the walls are usually old and dirty or not treated properly causing chunks of wall or paint to fall out.
3. If working outdoors, the weather will kill you.

What’s one message about your scope of work you’ll like others to know about?

Apart from the creative part, it really tests your endurance, perseverance and determination.

What kind of projects do you take on other than murals?

Apart from murals, any art related jobs like backdrop painting to menu painting or signage painting, designing on doors or one time off art workshops. Sometimes illustrations or digital works.

Is there something you’re FUSSY about?

Not really, except maybe… just sometimes… I’m fussy about clients who may not be as understanding as they can be.